


His Loveliness Increases

by Marlon



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Christmas Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Homesickness, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-23
Updated: 2019-11-23
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:49:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21535471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marlon/pseuds/Marlon
Summary: When Kylo Ren makes the drastic decision to leave his old life behind and move across the world to Dublin, he has no idea what to expect. He moves in with an odd, eccentric family of two - Aisling Hux and her son, Armitage - and finds that his expectations of Dublin, Aisling, and Armitage are thoroughly subverted. A lot of strange things seem to happen at Aisling's house, including a mysterious orange cat that only seems to appear at night and disappears before the morning. Kylo starts to wonder if he made the right decision moving to Ireland.
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Kylo Ren
Comments: 73
Kudos: 100





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [5ofSpades](https://archiveofourown.org/users/5ofSpades/gifts).

> This was supposed to be my prompt for the Kylux Big Bang in 2019 but I wasn't able to get it together in time to create the story for the event and I felt guilty for having to drop out so I was determined that I'd finish the story one way or another. My sincerest apologies to 5ofSpades for being unable to do this in the summer.
> 
> Thanks to Christoph for his beta work and AWeirdLookingTree for letting me talk it out one night.

New city, new start Kylo thinks as his flight from California touches down in Dublin. He isn’t running away per se just… a change of scenery is badly needed, and so is a fresh start.

Perhaps the fame he’d found on the coastal surfing circuit had gone to his head. It was so hard to concentrate on university when fame, fortune, and beautiful, tanned people beckoned to him from the beach.

Whatever. Big Sur is played out anyway.

Kylo’s pretty sure that there’s no surfing in Ireland. It’s so green, he despairs, as he peers out the tiny oval of the airplane window at the fields and hedgerows flanking the runway. The sky they had descended from is slate grey and gloomy. Kylo sighs.

New city, new Kylo.

_Right?_

\----

Kylo lugs his heavy suitcases onto the green airport express bus then slumps back in his seat - he fears he’s made a mistake coming here. As the bus pulled away from the curb and darts into traffic, on the wrong side of the road, Kylo despairs at how rural the country seems. Not that Salinas is an urban hotspot by any means. Indeed, his little bit of California is mostly agricultural land but at least he’s close to a few major cities - San Jose, San Francisco, even Los Angeles isn’t out of reach. Here, though, there’s only Dublin.

The landscape zipping along beside the bus is varying shades of green, so different from the dusty, sunburnt beauty of home. The dull blue-gray of the Atlantic ocean can hardly compare to the azure-bright jewel of the Pacific and Kylo longs for it with a sudden passion.

But no. This was his decision and he’s sticking with it. He didn’t like the person he was rapidly becoming in Salinas and this chance to start again isn’t something he’s going to take lightly. He told Leia he’d come home for the summer which is eleven months from now, he can make it.

His eyes sting with fatigue as he gazes out the grimy bus window as they enter the city proper. The streets are so narrow, the buildings perilously close to the road. Everything looks so old, so lived in - this is a city that people live in and have lived in for centuries. It’s quite a contrast to the art deco facade of Salinas. Kylo is quickly lost as the bus loops around labyrinthine streets - how will he ever find his way in this place. Will he ever become familiar enough with Dublin that it feels like home?

Fortunately, his new room is only a short walk from the bus stop, so that’s something at least. He rings the bell and the bus slows to a stop. With some effort, he wrestles his two large suitcases, small duffle bag, and backpack off the bus and stands out of the way on the narrow sidewalk so he can consult the instructions he’s saved on his phone. He’d found his new room through the university’s website - Aisling seemed like a nice woman and she was only too happy to rent Kylo the attic room of her townhouse for the school year with the option to extend it if worked out for all of them.

He cautiously crosses the street with all his worldly belongings, mindful of the traffic speeding frantically past him on the narrow street. Over the bridge, crossing the lethargic river and up a gentle hill, he threads his way through the warren of streets of his new neighbourhood until he finds Aisling’s home. She had said to look for the pale, mint green townhouse with her flower shop on the ground floor. From across the street, he does indeed spy the mint green house with a flower shop at street level and if he was still in doubt, the wide front window proclaims “Flower Shop” in large gold and black letters.

This must be the place.

Kylo elbows his way in the door, hauling his luggage after him. He’s unprepared for the absolute riot of greenery and colour that greets him in the shop - it seems like every available surface is covered with flowers from plain white daisies to exotic purple orchids. A young man behind the counter with vibrant red hair that clashes with the greenery glances up at the sound of the bell, he frowns at Kylo’s suitcases.

“Careful,” He scolds as he hurries around the counter. “Some of these flowers are quite expensive.”

“Sorry,” Kylo mumbles, taken aback by the man’s luminous green eyes and ethereal beauty. He doesn’t look like anyone Kylo has ever seen before, so different from the beachy all-American looks of his friends in his former surfing circles. He fumbles his phone out of his pocket. “I’m looking for… Ayes-ling?” He stumbles over the Irish name.

The elfin man grimaces at his horrible pronunciation. “It’s Ash-lin,” he corrects. “The ‘g’ is silent.”

“Sorry,” Kylo says again. “I’ve only emailed with Aisling, never over the phone - I’m Kylo.” He pauses, searching for recognition on the man’s face. “I’m renting the attic room?”

“Are you asking me, or telling me?” The red-haired man arches one delicate eyebrow.

“Telling you.” Kylo tries to sound firm, he hadn’t expected an interrogation - surely he was expected? “Where’s Aisling?”

“She’s out making deliveries,” The man steps around Kylo to lock the front door and flips the sign to ‘Closed’. “I’ll take you upstairs - everything is ready for you.”

He motions for Kylo to follow him with a jerk of his chin then heads off, not offering to help Kylo with his bags. Kylo shoves his phone in his pocket and hurries after the strange man, trying to be as careful as possible with his bags, he didn’t want to get off on the wrong foot with Aisling by crushing her valuable blooms.

The red-haired man leads Kylo through the long workroom towards a back door. The space is lined with high tables, rolls of cellophane and spools of colourful ribbons, one wall is mostly taken up with a cooler filled with roses of all colours. The floor is littered with clippings.

Through the back door, Kylo huffs and groans as he hauls his suitcases up a wooden staircase to the living space on the second floor. He’s sweating and his hair is falling limp in his eyes as he stumbles through the door into the bright, tidy kitchen.

Kylo feels instantly at home in the unfamiliar townhouse - the living space has a nice energy flowing through it, both comforting and welcoming all at once. The kitchen itself is clean and bright with walls painted a cheerful yellow and complimented by a cherry-red table and chairs. Off to Kylo’s right is a pantry and a row of coat hooks as well as another staircase, probably going up to his room, and over to his left is a small parlour with a plush loveseat, piano, and an armchair. Kylo glances down the hallway straight in front of him and he assumes the other doors must lead to bedrooms and other living spaces.

“You’re up there,” The man points up the staircase. “You can’t miss it, it’s the only room up there. Aisling will be back soon and we’ll have dinner around six if you’re awake.” He nods at Kylo as he lightly steps around him. “I have to get back to the shop, we have a wedding coming up.”

With another nod, the man escapes out the door without introducing himself, his fleet steps echoing up from the staircase outside. Alone in the strange house, Kylo sighs, suddenly feeling utterly exhausted. He takes his time lugging his bags up the much narrower set of stairs from the kitchen to the attic.

Upstairs, he peaks in all the doors, finding a linen closet, his own bathroom, and finally, his room. He’d seen pictures of it, of course, but the room is much nicer in person, and more comfortable. Large and painted a soothing blue, which reminds him of home, the room is spacious and sparsely furnished. Thankfully, the bed is large which will easily accommodate his height, and made up with snowy-white linens and has an old wrought iron headboard. The rest of the furniture in the room has a well-loved look to it - the desk is weathered-looking but good enough for his needs, and the bookshelf stands empty waiting for him to fill it with all his textbooks.

The best feature of the room, in his opinion, is the ceiling - the wall behind the bed rises up to meet the ceiling which bends at an angle and on this angled-portion, there are three large skylights which flood the room with the afternoon light. Aisling, or perhaps the strange red-haired man, has propped open one of the windows so that the damp, briny August air can filter in through the room.

He eyes the bed longingly. He’d love nothing more than to lie down and sleep off the jet lag but he knows it’ll make the adjustment harder and besides, he doesn’t want to sleep in the pristine sheets until he’s showered. His flight was tiring and with one long layover in Newark, he’s uncomfortably aware that he’s been wearing the same clothes for about 18 hours.

Leaving his big suitcases where he’d dragged them into the room, Kylo decides he really needs music. He brings his backpack over to the simple wooden table that would be his desk for the year and setting it down on the chair, he notices a note and a set of keys on the tabletop. It’s a note from Aisling.

_Fáilte Kylo, dear!_

He grins at her greeting, almost from the first moment he’d contacted her about the room she’d addressed him as either “Kylo dear” or _“A mhuirnín”_, which Google translate told him meant much the same thing.

_Céad míle fáilte! Welcome to Dublin. I’m so sorry I can’t be there when you arrive but we were swarmed with orders today - hopefully Armitage wasn’t too mean to you, he’s actually a sweet boy but prickly around new people, and yes I am biased because I’m his mother!_

Armitage? She must mean the red-haired man who’d greeted him earlier. Kylo snorts, if that was the worst that “sweet boy” could dish out, it’s nothing that Kylo can’t handle. The rest of her letter is about the wifi passwords, keys to the house, and promises that she and Armitage will help him figure out his new city.

It’s a nice letter. Aisling seems warm and motherly, Kylo thinks this will be a good fit, even if her son is a prickly asshole.

He’s crawling under the desk to plug in his laptop when the whine of the door hinges snag his attention. Glancing over his shoulder he sees the long whiskers and inquisitive ears of a curious orange cat peeking through the door.

“Hello there,” He says, turning around to sit, extending his long legs in front of him. “Who are you?”

He makes a quiet “_pshpshsph”_ sound, extending his hand and wiggling his fingers invitingly, but the cat just stares at him with its large, luminous green eyes, the end of its fluffy tail curling in a question mark.__

_ _Ignoring his extended hand, the cat trots over to the bed and leaps up to make itself comfortable in the centre of the pile of quilts. Kylo drops his hand and observes the cat - it glares back unblinking, tail lashing around on the blankets behind it._ _

_ _“Alright, I guess you can stay,” Kylo says as he heaves himself to his feet. The cat yawns loudly then lays its head down on its white-socked front paws and tracks him around the room with just its eyes._ _

_ _Kylo shrugs at the cat. His cousin Rey has a cute calico cat named Bebe so he knows the best thing to do is to just go about his business and let the cat get used to him. He queues up a few songs on his sleek silver laptop then sets about unpacking. Most of his clothes are pretty wrinkled but hopefully, they’ll shake out after a few days out of the suitcase - not that his collection of t-shirts, jeans, and hoodies is all that fancy._ _

_ _With his clothes unpacked and his books and trinkets stacked on the desk, he zips up the suitcases and pushes them to the side of the room, he’ll ask Aisling later if there’s a storage area for them. The peculiar orange cat has by now fallen asleep and is snoring softly on top of his blankets so Kylo gathers his toiletries and tiptoes from the room, eager for a shower now that he’s mostly settled in._ _

_ __ _

\----

Showers in Ireland were clearly not meant for someone as tall as Kylo. He has to crouch to get his head under the spray but it’s fine, the shower feels amazing after his long hours of travel, stress, and sweat.

Back in his room wearing only a soft pair of black yoga tights, towel around his shoulders to soak up the water dripping from the curling ends of his dark hair, Kylo notices that the orange cat is awake again.

Kylo approaches the bed cautiously. He sits gingerly beside the cat and holds out his knuckles for the animal to sniff suspiciously. From below, the jingle of keys sound and a cheery voice calls out - Aisling is home. The cat nips at Kylo’s hand then leaps from the bed and scurries from the room, its bushy tail flicking around the bannister as it rushes downstairs.

Kylo curses under his breath as he rubbed his thumb over the bruised area. The cat hadn’t broken the skin but there’s a red mark showing where its teeth had been. Not friends yet, then. With a few quick strokes, he scrubs at his hair with the towel, trying to dry it more thoroughly, then he hurries to pull on a t-shirt and old knobbly cardigan before rushing downstairs to meet Aisling.

\----

For a person more than a head shorter than Kylo, Aisling has the ability to engulf him fully and completely in a hug that makes him feel entirely welcome. Behind her, Armitage looks on with a raised eyebrow like he didn’t approve of Aisling’s penchant for taking in lost puppies.

That’s sort of how he feels, like a lost puppy, adrift in this new city with new people who have social cues he doesn’t quite understand yet, and maybe never would. Like Armitage. Why is he so reserved and cold, he doesn’t even know Kylo yet. He hopes they’ll be friends since they’re of an age, it would be nice to have someone to talk with that wasn’t a thousand miles away. For now, he puts a pin in the mystery that is Armitage and refocuses his attention to Aisling.

He likes her immediately, her warmth is a nice counterpoint to Armitage. _No, stop thinking of him_, Kylo admonishes himself. Aisling has long red hair which she’d tied up in a large topknot, obviously to keep it out of her face while at work, and warm brown eyes. With a small hand on Kylo’s elbow, she steers him to the red table and bids him sit.

“I thought we’d have cottage pie for dinner tonight,” She says as she plunks a bowl of potatoes down on the table, beckoning Armitage over to help. “That way you can have the leftovers tomorrow until you get to the Spar yourself.”

She bustles to the stove where she already has things cooking in the skillet and a large pot of water boiling. “Armitage, did you clear out the shelves for Kylo?” She adds some salt to the water.

He nods, eyes on the potato he’s peeling.

“Good lad.”

Kylo and Armitage make short work of the potatoes while Aisling does all the talking asking him about his flight, how he likes Dublin and the house so far. Aisling has very quick hands, utensils seem to appear and disappear from her hands in the blink of an eye, Kylo doesn’t even see her move half the time. He likes listening to she and Armitage talk, their accents are light and lilting and everything Armitage says sounds like poetry to Kylo’s ear. Aisling murmurs to herself and Armitage in Irish but periodically switches to English to Kylo can follow the conversation.

When the casserole dish is in the oven, they set the table and then Kylo feels at loose ends. He doesn't want to disappear upstairs, it seems rude, but he’s not sure if he should hang around. Armitage sees his dithering and with a slight roll of his eyes, waves him back to his seat as he grabs a clean mug from the dish rack and sets it in front of Kylo.

“Do you want tea?”

Kylo nods, feeling slightly hypnotized by Armitage’s bright green gaze. Aisling laughs as she sits beside him at the small, round table.

“This must be so different from California?” She asks chin on her hands and a kind expression on her face.

“It is,” Kylo pauses. “It’s so green here.”

“That’s because it never stops bloody raining,” Armitage grumps as he sits, sliding Kylo’s mug of tea towards him. “You’ll see soon enough.”

“Ah, sure,” Kylo says, nervous again now that he has the attention of both Aisling and Armitage fixed on him. “Um, do you take boarders every school year?”

“No, hardly ever,” Aisling replies, stirring her tea and tapping the spoon delicately on the rim of the mug. “But something about your application jumped out at me.” She darts a complicated look at Armitage before smiling brightly at Kylo. “I could tell you were special.”

“Oh.” That gives Kylo pause. “I don’t know about that.” He finishes awkwardly, no one had called him special like that before.

“Well, it remains to be seen what part you have yet to play,” She says cryptically. “But, our house is your house, dear.”

“I met your cat.” Kylo blurts out, anxious to cover his inability to take a compliment.

“Cat?” Aisling looks confused.

“Yeah, the orange cat with the white paws,” Kylo replies, looking between the two of them. “Fuzzy tail and green eyes?”

“Oh! The cat.” She says, clapping her hands once. “He lives here of course, but he comes and goes as he will.”

“He bit me.”

She laughs as she reaches over to squeeze Armitage's hand. “That sounds like him. He’s not so bad once he gets used to you, dear, don’t worry. He’s a grumpy thing, stuck in his ways.”

“Maybe he just doesn’t like strangers in his house,” Armitage mutters into his tea.

“He’ll get used to it,” Aisling says forcefully, giving Armitage a stern glance.

Kylo is lost again, feeling that more is being said here than he can understand at the moment.

The conversation drifts away from the cat to their daily schedules and upcoming classes. Kylo excitedly tells them about the classes he has in the fall term and the books he gets to buy from the bookstore - he can hardly wait. Armitage, he learns, is a musician and starting his Master's degree in composition. Kylo can’t help but be a little impressed even though Armitage looks a tad too smug as his mother brags about his accomplishments.

When the bell on the oven dings, indicating dinner is ready, Aisling gets up to take the pan out of the oven.

“Armitage, love, you’ll show Kylo around tomorrow, won’t you?” She says as she sets the dish on a wire rack on the kitchen table to cool. “Show him where the Spar is, the bus, maybe show him the castle or one of the cathedrals?” She smiles at Kylo reassuringly. “I’m sure you’ll never see so many castles in your life as you will in Ireland, dear.”

“Um, thank you,” Kylo says, eyes darting to Armitage who looks slightly put-out but not enough to argue with his mother in front of Kylo.

Aisling returns to the table with a large serving spoon and a bowl of salad. She hands the serving spoon to Armitage and sets the salad in front of Kylo and with that, the first of many dinners in his new home begins.

\----

True to his word, Armitage dutifully ushers Kylo around The Liberties neighbourhood the next day showing him any and every place he could ever want to go. This Spar, not that one. This place for coffee is better, don’t even bother with Starbucks. Bus stops, a live music venue that is also a dance club on Fridays, some street art on the metal shutters of the barbershop around the corner.

The Liberties seems to be a gritty, old neighbourhood in the middle of a transition. Old, weather-beaten buildings mix with warehouses and a burgeoning distillery area, and abandoned lots. There are still churches, too numerous to count perched on every corner, but also chain-restaurants and the occasional historical building. Graffiti mixes with officially commissioned street art, horse-drawn carriages race by, leaving the stables near the Guinness distillery, and there are cars, buses, and bikes. It’s a very eclectic area.

Armitage also walks Kylo past not only Dublin Castle, as promised, but also takes him around behind the castle to see the well-manicured garden and library. Then, because Armitage has to get back to the flower shop, they run across the street to a small bakery across from the castle where they order tea and coffee to go. Kylo fumbles a bit with the unfamiliar money, so many coins, but he has to admit the different coloured paper bills makes it easy to see the denominations he has in hand. Armitage eyes the tray of fresh-baked raspberry scones with a longing so Kylo has the clerk add one to their bill.

Armitage takes the paper bag containing the raspberry scone and containers of jam and cream and slips it into his pocket with a small smile directed at Kylo. They leave the cafe with their drinks and retrace their steps towards home. Armitage deposits Kylo at the front door saying by way of farewell that they have various canvas tote bags upstairs for use while grocery shopping. With a wave to Aisling through the window, Kylo heads around the side of the building to the stairs and faithfully retrieves the shopping bags.

Groceries acquired and put away, Kylo decides to brave the unfamiliar transit system to make his first trip to the university. Luckily for him, his new international SIM card has unlimited data and he relies heavily on the map feature to lead him through the twisty, narrow streets. Once on the campus, he finds the Philosophy department and introduces himself to the few staff members that are in the office that morning. He wanders around the campus a bit after that, sticking close to the area around the building that houses the School of Philosophy, then he goes to the bookstore.

Much later, well after dinner is finished and tidied away, Kylo still feeling a little fragile and overwhelmed by everything, retreats to his room - Rey had said she’d call tonight. Well, late in the night for him, early evening for her. The time difference is a lot to get used too, it makes skyping a tricky dance because if it’s convenient for Kylo in Dublin, it’s still afternoon for everyone in California. Rey had insisted that she wanted to call as soon as she could so he’d gladly wait up until the small hours of the morning just to hear a familiar voice.

Kylo sprawls on his bed flipping through his course packs and books that he’d picked up from the campus bookstore earlier today while from downstairs, the faint strains of a fiddle float up to him, Armitage is practising as he seems to do every night. Eventually, Kylo pushes his books to the side and flops over onto his back to gaze up at the skylights while letting Armitage’s beautiful playing wash over him. Armitage plays with a beautiful upholstered sound that also has a lovely, light and lilting texture, similar to how he speaks.

He must have dozed off because he startles awake to the chime of his phone, vibrating away on the bed beside him. He swipes the button to accept the call and is greeted by Rey and Finn’s bright smiles. The house below is quiet and dark.

“Top o’ the morning Kylo!” Rey and Finn chorus in unison.

Kylo muffles his laugh with his hand, not wanting to wake the house. “No one actually says that here.”

“I can’t believe movies and tv have lied to me all this time!” Rey giggles. 

Kylo grins but his lower lip quivers slightly - he’s only just arrived in Dublin and he already misses them so much. Finn’s astute gaze takes in Kylo’s rapidly crumpling expression and he turns to press a kiss to Rey’s temple.

“I’m going to go pick up dinner,” He says to her with a smile. “Do you want those rice bowls from Roaming Dragon?”

She nods. Finn turns back to the screen.

“I’ll let you two catch up,” Finn waves then moved off-screen. Rey blows him a kiss.

“So,” Rey turns back to the screen and levels a serious look at him. “How is it?”

“It’s okay,” He replies with a sad sniff. “It’s not like home at all.”

“Ky, you can’t expect every place to be like Salinas.”

“I know, it’s just-”

He breaks off as the door to his room creaked open an inch and the haughty, inquisitive face of the lanky, orange cat peers around the frame. The cat pads across the weathered floorboards hopped up on the bed and pushes itself in front of Kylo so it can look at the phone screen.

“Who’s this?” Rey asks, delighted.

“This is Aisling’s cat, I guess,” He says. The cat flops down into a loaf beside him, tucking its feet beneath it. “I hardly see it around though, I don’t think it even has a name.” He gasps as the cat nips at the fleshy part of his hand then gives him an affronted glare. “He likes to bite me.”

Rey laughs.

Kylo settles more comfortably on the bed with the cat beside him, its fluffy tail brushing periodically over his arm. Rey tells Kylo about work - her big presentation had gone well and her engineering firm won the contract. Kylo, in turn, fills her in with his first impressions of Dublin. Yes, his new room is nice, no it’s not too far to school, people seem nice, even Armitage. The cat divides its attention between Rey’s image on the screen and Kylo, giving every appearance of following the conversation, its tail lashing around periodically in response to something that either Rey or Kylo says.

“Ky, are you alright,” Rey asks finally. “You look sad.”

The cat’s head whips around to stare at Kylo, its whiskers vibrating.

“I’m fine, Rey, I promise.” He gives her a wobbly smile. “Just a bit homesick, I guess.”

“Yeah.” She’s quiet for a second, then: “You’ll probably feel better once school gets going, then you’ll be too busy to even miss us.”

“I doubt it,” He sniffs. “But yeah, there’s orientation and stuff next week, then classes the week after that. It’ll be fine.”

“Exactly!” She chirps brightly. “And before you know it, you’ll be home for the summer.” She looks offscreen as a door slams, Finn has returned with dinner. “I have to go but call anytime, okay?”

“Sure. Talk to you later.”

He signs off then tosses his phone aside and rests his chin on his crossed forearms. He heaves a long sigh then rolls his head to the side to watch the cat. Its tail lashes around behind it but the expression on its face is thoughtful. He reaches out to stroke the cat’s cheek with his knuckle then he smooths his hand down the cat’s back.

He knows he shouldn’t mope around too much, this was his decision after all but he didn’t expect the homesickness to hit him quite this hard. Rey and Finn live in San Francisco so it’s not like he saw them all the time anyway and Leia is always away on city council business, Han for work but he supposes it’s the idea that he could easily see all of them if he wanted too. His few friends were also all within driving distance. But now he’s on his own.

Rey and Finn’s voices are already sounding flat and American to him, even after two days of being immersed in the lilting voices of Armitage and Aisling. Would he come home in the summer with rounded vowels and rolled ‘R’s’? That makes him laugh, he’d sound so pretentious. He sobers then; he wouldn't be the same person though. The Kylo that left Salinas in August won’t be the same one that returns in May, who will he be then? But, he reminds himself, that was the point of this whole endeavour - he didn’t like the person he was becoming so he had to make a change.

With a scritch to the cat’s alert ears, Kylo rolls off the bed and heads to the bathroom to get ready for bed. It’s well after one in the morning, his eyes feel like sandpaper and he feels rather emotionally wrung out at well. To top it all off, he’s still jet lagged so he probably needs a few more days of adjustment.

When he returns to his room, he strips off his clothes and tosses them in the hamper then digs around in the bureau for his pyjama pants. The cat is still perched on his bed, watching him with wide eyes.

“Are you staying here then?” He asks as he slips beneath the covers.

Lying on his back, he gazes up at the stars beyond the glass of the skylights. It’s soothing to see the night sky. The same stars glimmer down at him here as they would if he were back in Salinas. That thought comforts him as his eyes drift closed. The cat creeps up the bed to curl up in the curve of his shoulder, its rusty purr rumbled to life for a second as Kylo slips off into slumber.

\----

School is now mere days away and Kylo finds he’s more than ready for classes to begin - the lack of a routine has made it difficult to get over his jetlag and what’s more, he feels a bit guilty for loafing around the house while Armitage and Aisling were at work in the flower shop below. He had offered to help but Aisling always shooed him away saying it wasn’t necessary.

He’s returning from his early morning run when he happens to spy Aisling unloading her car at the back of the townhouse. He angles towards her.

“Aisling, can I help?”

“Oh, no thank you, dear,” She steps back from the car pulling one bucket of flowers from the auction house with her. “I just have the one.”

Aisling smiles up at him, her blue eyes merry.

Wait.

Her _blue_ eyes?

Kylo cocks his head to the side. Surely he’s not imagining things.

“Um, Aisling,” He says, hoping she won’t be offended. “Are you wearing contacts? I could swear your eyes were brown yesterday?”

“Were they! Sometimes I forget.” She closes her eyes and presses the tips of her chlorophyll-stained fingers to her temples, tapping as if trying to dislodge a thought. When her eyes flutter open again, they are the familiar warm brown once more. “It’s so hard to keep track of the details, you know?”

“Ah,” Kylo trails off. “Not really…”

He glances down at the bucket in her arms. There were about a dozen flowers in the bucket and all the blooms were of wildly different colours and shapes, no two were alike. He’s flummoxed again by Aisling’s curious ways. Her shop is overflowing with every sort of flower and plant imaginable, how could she restock her inventory with just this handful of flowers?

“Don’t you need more flowers than that for the store?” He points at the bucket as Aisling fishes around in her pockets for her keys.

“Oh no, dear,” She triumphantly finds her heavy clump of keys in her pocket and jingles them at Kylo happily. “I’ve got everything I need right here.” She pats the belly of the bucket and the flowers turn their faces to her, their petals and leaves seemingly reaching for her.

“Hmm”

Hoisting the bucket into her arms, Aisling bustles away into the workroom leaving Kylo gazing thoughtfully after her. She’s an unusual person, to be sure, but she’s hardly the most eccentric person he’s ever encountered; Salinas is home to plenty of unconventional people. Before he’d arrived in Dublin, he really didn’t know what would await him here but his expectations have been thoroughly subverted so far.

Taking the stairs two at a time, he steps into the kitchen and heads straight for his shelf in the pantry. Fumbling two slices of bread out of the package, he’s just pushing down the lever on the toaster when Armitage glides silently down the hall and into the kitchen. With a nod, Armitage begins preparing tea but Kylo doesn’t miss the way his keen eyes linger on Kylo’s broad shoulders and chest. Kylo turns back to the toaster with a grin - he knows this shirt is at least one size too small but it’s hardly his fault if he grabbed a shirt at random every morning, it’s dark in his room early in the morning. It has nothing to do with the fact that Kylo knows Armitage waits for him in the kitchen every morning while pretending to be busy on his phone.

Kylo smirks at his reflection in the toaster as Armitage seats himself regally at the table, long legs crossed, phone out. Kylo gathers up his finished toast, an avocado from the basket beside the sink and drops himself with less finesse into his spot at the table. He goes about buttering the toast, pitting and slicing the avocado with single-minded devotion, only looking up when he feels like he’s being watched. Armitage meets his eye with an elegantly arched eyebrow.

“Avocado toast,” Kylo says by way of explanation, pointing to the plate with his fork.

“Yes,” Armitage replies with a faint grin playing around his mouth. “We have that here as well, you know.”

“Well, fancy that,” Kylo says, grinning as he mimics Armitage’s fussy way of speaking. He smiles wider when Armitage kicks him lightly under the table for his impudence.

Kylo finishes preparing his toast, adding a dash of salt and pepper, then cutting each piece into two. He nudges the plate towards Armitage and looks pointedly between Armitage and the plate of avocado toast. With a nod of thanks, Armitage takes a piece and bites into it with obvious relish.

“So,” Kylo says, a teasing tone to his voice. “The fancy musician knows all about avocado toast, aren’t you full of surprises.”

“You have no idea,” Armitage responds, popping the last bite of toast into his mouth and smiling faintly.

\----

When Kylo returns to his attic room later that night after dinner and dishes, he immediately notices the note left on the corner of his bed. It’s from Armitage, much to his surprise. The note is actually a printout from a website of Ireland’s best up and coming surfing locations with “Hope this helps with the homesickness” scrawled in Armitage’s precise hand at the top of the page.

Even though Kylo is mortified his homesickness is that obvious, he’s touched that Armitage thought of him at all. Eagerly, Kylo grabs his laptop from his desk and falls back onto the bed with the printout and to begin researching each site. He had no idea Ireland even had a fledgling surfing scene, this is exciting. He could get in at the start of the movement here. In California, nearly everyone surfs, it’s not special but here, here he could have the waves to himself.

He’s so engrossed in his work that he doesn’t realize that Armitage’s fiddling downstairs has stopped and the house is settling down for the night. He looks up from his laptop when the cat eventually slinks in to spend time with him, as it does nearly every night. The orange cat is still a mystery to Kylo, he hardly sees it around during the day but nearly every night it comes to hang out on his bed while he reads or scrolls through YouTube.

“Look at this,” He says to the cat as it sprawls out beside him. “Armitage found a list of surfing spots around the country.” He shows the paper to the cat. “Isn’t that nice of him.”

The cat shrugs, it has a mutinous look on its face like it’s thinking of biting him. Kylo pushes the laptop away so he can rest his chin on his crossed forearms. He brushes his fingers over Armitage’s scrawl at the top of the page and sighs softly.

“I think it’s nice.” He says more to himself. “I just want him to like me, you know.” He smiles at the cat. “Is that uncool of me?”

The cat shrugs again. It paws at the paper, dragging the printout closer to itself then it reads over the text with thoughtful green eyes, then glances up at Kylo. After a moment, it opens its mouth in a silent miaow and presses one of its white-socked front paws to Kylo’s hand. He grins as he tickles the cat under the chin.

“You’re so weird,” He laughs. “It’s like you don’t know how to cat properly sometimes.”

The cat looks offended and swats Kylo in the face with its tail as it turns to lounge on Kylo’s pillow. He laughs again as he rolls off the bed and crosses the room to his bookshelf.

“What do you want to read tonight?” He turns back to the cat, holding up two books. “An Introduction to Ethics, or Scientific Reasoning?”

The cat swishes its tail in a noncommittal gesture. Kylo grins as he returns one of the books on the shelf.

“Oh, an Introduction to Ethics? A bold choice.”

He settles back onto the bed. The cat sidles closer until it’s curled in a ball at Kylo’s side, a warm and comforting weight. Kylo absently scritches the cat’s ears as he flips to the start of his book then settles in for the night.

\----

“Are you almost ready to go?”

Kylo nods as he finishes his last few bites of eggs and toast and washes it down with the dregs of his tea. Armitage moves like lightning as he snags Kylo’s last piece of toast, shoving it into his mouth with a grin.

“I was going to eat that.” Kylo gazes forlornly down at his now empty plate.

“You have just enough time to make a new piece but you have to eat it on the way to the bus.”

“It’s fine,” Kylo sighs, enjoying their little morning ritual more than any piece of toast. “Let me just get my bag.”

Armitage has given up all pretense of casually loitering around the kitchen each morning waiting for Kylo to finish his run. Now, he simply parks himself at the kitchen table until Kylo returns and then together, they make tea and toast, or eggs and oatmeal. Kylo doesn’t know exactly why Armitage seems to have softened towards him in recent weeks but he’s ecstatic about it. Armitage is still prim and proper but he has a wonderful gallows humour and a sharp tongue, Kylo’s nearly choked with laughter on his coffee or tea more than once. He hasn’t missed Aisling’s knowing smile either when she catches the two of them having breakfast every morning.

Kylo pushes back from the table and hurries upstairs to brush his teeth, grab his cardigan and book bag. He smiles to himself in the mirror as he haphazardly scrubs the red toothbrush around his mouth - he knows Armitage doesn’t like to be kept waiting but he also knows that Armitage won’t leave without him, he just likes to complain.

As he leaves his room, Kylo also retrieves his new green wool coat from the hook on the back of his bedroom door. Leia had made him buy it before he left and he’d argued that it seemed like overkill but now that it was the end of September, the brisk winds sweeping through the city chilled him thoroughly and he’s glad to have the coat.

Downstairs, Armitage is waiting by the kitchen door, scrolling through his phone. As always, he looks immaculate in his slim gray jeans and navy coat, he doesn’t even look like a grad student but rather, some child prodigy who finished school and became a professor at a ridiculously young age. Kylo would never say that to Armitage though, he’s smug enough about his musical talents, he hardly needs his ego stroked further. He smiles as Armitage looks up from his phone.

Together they clatter down the stairs, past Aisling’s car and around the corner to the bus stop. Kylo’s pretty sure that Armitage would normally just walk to school - Trinity isn’t that far away from their townhouse - but clearly Armitage has decided that he doesn’t mind spending a few minutes on the bus with Kylo each morning. He’s also sure it isn’t an order from Aisling; if it was, Armitage would pretend to be more put-upon than usual.

When the bus arrives, it’s full of students and professional people all either glued to their phones or quietly chatting with each other so there aren’t two seats together and they end up standing pressed hip-to-hip in the open space reserved for baby strollers towards the front. The bus pulls away from the curb and into the fast-moving flow of traffic.

“What are you doing this weekend?”

Kylo swivels around to look at Armitage, his heart thrumming in his chest. “Nothing. Why?”

“Aisling has to be away and I was wondering if you could help me in the flower shop?” Armitage glances out the window to see where they are then turned back to Kylo. “It’ll probably be slow.”

Oh, Kylo deflates a little. But still, anytime spent with Armitage, even if they’re working, is time well-spent.

“Yeah, I can help.”

Armitage smiles then. “I appreciate it. The house always feels too quiet and haunted when Aisling is away so it’s nice that you’re here.”

Kylo perks up at that. 

The driver hits the brakes suddenly as the light changes causing Armitage to stumble forward. Kylo darts a hand out to Armitage’s hip to steady him he then tugs Armitage forward so that he can slot himself into the narrow space between Kylo’s shoulder and the handrail.

“That was very smooth.” He whispers against the curve of Kylo’s cheek, his warm breath tickling Kylo’s ear.

The corner of Kylo’s lip curls up in a devious smile. “That isn’t even my best move.”

“Oh really,” Armitage says, an eyebrow arched elegantly. He leans even closer. “You’ll have to show me your ‘best move’ then someday.”

The bus pulls over to the curb and Armitage smiles brightly as he slips away from Kylo to join the exodus of passengers off the bus.

“You always have to have the last word!” Kylo calls out to him.

Armitage throws a wave over his shoulder before he’s swallowed up by the crowd of people rushing for the door. When he’s off the bus, he knocks on the window as he walks by, flipping a saucy salute to Kylo before he’s lost to the throngs of people on the sidewalk. Kylo cranes his neck to try to catch one last glimpse of him as the bus pulls away but Armitage is already gone.

\----

“Kylo, dear, it’s so nice of you to offer to help Armitage while I’m away.” Aisling pats Kylo’s elbow as she smiles up at him.

Kylo’s so eager for this weekend that he’s going to overlook the fact that Aisling’s hair is slowly turning from its usual sunburst orange to a candyfloss pink before his eyes.

“Are you visiting friends?” He asks as she digs through her messenger bag, making sure she has everything.

“Yes, in a way,” She glances around and swipes her keys from the table. “A monthly gathering of some friends.”

“Oh, like a book club.” Kylo nods to himself, thinking back to the time before Leia returned to local politics. When Kylo was still young, she’d been a stay-at-home mom and in that brief time, she’d somehow managed to seize control of the local book club from their neighbour.

“Well, not quite, dear-”

Armitage slinks into the kitchen then, sock feet skimming silently over the floorboards.

“Off to live deliciously again, mother?” He laughs wickedly as Aisling swats at him.

“Stop saying that,” She admonishes. “You know it’s not accurate.”

Kylo glances between the two of them, a half-smile on his face - he could live in Dublin for a hundred years and never understand the Irish sense of humour but their love for each other is obvious. He follows the two of them down the stairs as Armitage brings Aisling's small travel bag to the car for her.

Stepping down from the last stair and onto the gravel of the small parking area, Kylo tips his face to the sky and inhales deeply - autumn in Dublin has been amazing. Although he finds the weather to be quite cold, which Armitage delights in teasing him about, the crisp air and cloudless cobalt blue skies make the teasing bearable. He’s never seen such a perfect blue sky - the sky over Salinas is always clear, of course, but it’s usually hazy with heat and sunlight, not this cloak of deep, saturated colour. The scent of woodsmoke permeates the air and combined with the riot of colour as the trees transition into winter, the city appears full of romance and rather cinematic. Kylo finds he can’t wait to see what Christmas is like in Dublin.

Aisling gathers him into a farewell embrace, jolting him out of his woolgathering. She then turns to Armitage and he leans down dutifully so that she can press a kiss to his cheek.

“Now,” She says getting into the car. “If it’s slow at the shop, it’s fine to close it down for a few days. We’re past the busy season so there’s no harm in a few days closure.”

Kylo and Armitage nod in unison. She makes to swing the door shut but Kylo stops her.

“What about the cat?”

“Oh,” She waves a hand. “Just do as you normally do with the cat, he’s perfectly fine.”

Kylo frowns slightly - he’s been unable to find out where the cat disappears most of the time. There’s no food or water dish in sight, no cat toys. He waves hesitantly as Aisling reverses the car and zips away. He turns to Armitage, feeling nervous and giddy to be all alone with him.

“Avocado toast?” Armitage says as he turns to climb the stairs back to the kitchen.

Kylo scrambles after him, taking the steps two at a time. “Sure, why not.”

\----

Working in a flower shop on a slow day is boring Kylo decides. Armitage had been right, it is quiet today, it seems that no one wants flowers on a blustery day in late September. Kylo alternates between sweeping the dried leaves and fallen petals from the floor of the store and sprawling over the counter reading one of his school books or scrolling through his phone. He cleaned the large glass windows until they sparkle then he offers to help Armitage in the workroom but Armitage waves him back to the storefront. He and Armitage take turns playing their music over the shop’s speakers and laughing at each other’s choices.

Armitage, for his part, spends most of the day in the workroom preparing orders but by two in the afternoon, all the customers have come in to pick up their arrangements or custom-made autumnal wreaths so Armitage declares that they should close early. He’s still in the workroom sweeping up, Major Lazer blaring over the shop speakers when the brass bells over the front door jingle.

Kylo glances up from his place at the counter where he’d been scrolling through Instagram. The petite girl with a perky ponytail lights up when she sees him, Kylo darts a glance to the door of the workroom - should he get Armitage? He probably hadn’t heard the bells over the music. The girl makes a beeline for Kylo.

“Can you help me?” She asks, fluttering her lashes at Kylo. “I need some flowers for a friend.”

“Well, I’m not sure,” He begins. “I don’t really know-”

She grasps his arm and steers him over to the pots of ready-made bouquets by the window.

“What can you tell me about these?”

“Um,” Kylo’s brain whirs through possible answers. He could try to fake it but then what if he costs Armitage the sale? That wouldn't be good, right? “What do you need them for?”

“My friend announced her engagement today so we’re all going to dinner.” She sighs up at Kylo. “That’s the third friend this month, when will it be my turn?” She tosses her hair over her shoulder with a small laugh.

Kylo laughs nervously along with her. “Ah, what about these?” He points to a bouquet of large brightly coloured daisies.

“No, those are for a mom, don’t you think?”

“I guess? Maybe a cool mom.”

The girl laughs and swats him lightly on the arm. “Aren’t you funny!”

The floorboards creak just then. Kylo glances over his shoulder to see Armitage barrelling towards him, hair puffed up like a startled cat, his eyes big, glittery, and dangerous. He insinuates himself between Kylo and the girl, pressing himself back so he’s shielding Kylo with his body.

“May I help you?” He says, sounding like he’d prefer to do nothing of the sort.

“Oh,” Her eyes widen as she looks from Armitage to Kylo and back. “I need some flowers for a friend.”

“Of course, right this way,” Armitage says smoothly as he sweeps her away from Kylo and the cheaper daisies and towards the more expensive peonies. 

Kylo flees for the safety of the cash register. He watches Armitage upsell the girl a beautiful arrangement of blossoms in a variety of pale pinks and whites and laced with green ivy. Armitage takes the bouquet to the back to wrap up as the girl approaches the register to pay.

“Sorry,” She says, smiling again. “I didn’t know that was your boyfriend.”

“Oh, he’s not… he’s my friend and roommate. Sort of.” Kylo mumbles as he punches in the total for the flowers.

The girl hands over her card. “Say no more.” She says with an airy wave of her hand. “I know how things can be complicated.”

Armitage returns then with her flowers, elegantly wrapped in cellophane and brown craft paper and tied up with rustic withy twine around the stems. He hands them over and they both wave as she departs the store. In unison, they both slumped down to rest their elbows on the counter, their shoulders pressed together.

“You looked like you needed saving,” Armitage says, looking over at Kylo, his hair and body language calm again.

“Yeah, a little bit,” Kylo admits ruefully.

“Come on,” Armitage says as he pushes himself to stand. “Let’s get out of here and go do something - your choice.”

Kylo pulls himself to his full height and turns, resting his hip against the counter so that he faces Armitage. He reaches out to lightly brush some errant strands of red hair from Armitage’s forehead. Armitage's lashes flutter minutely.

“Can we go to the beach?”

“I know just the place,” Armitage says with an inward look on his face. “We need our coats and Leap cards though - we’ll be taking the train.”

“Alright.”

\----

As September fades to October, the workload at school really begins to pick up for both Kylo and Armitage. Aisling releases Armitage from his full-time duties in the shop and she hires a short, smiling girl aptly named Rose to assist part-time.

Kylo flies through his mid-term exams with grades higher than they ever had been when he was at school back home. He eagerly texted Rey screenshots of his marks, laughing along with her when she calls in the middle of the night to celebrate with him.

After his shaky start, he’s feeling more confident than he did in August that he’s made the right decision in moving here. School is exciting and challenging, he’s even begun to look ahead to his second year and the subject areas he might like to concentrate on. Of the ten students that had started out the term, two of the others in his class have already transferred to other programs so there’s more scrutiny than usual on his work but the feedback from the professors has been positive.

At the townhouse, he’s started doing some of his homework in the parlour with the piano so that he can listen to Armitage work out his compositions. Armitage also has teaching duties as part of his responsibilities as a graduate student, so there are some nights when he and Kylo sit pressed shoulder to shoulder on the comfortable damask sofa, Armitage marking student compositions and essays, Kylo working on his own mountain of essays due at the end of the term. It’s a nice routine.

The cat continues to be a particular mystery to Kylo. The reclusive little cat continues to spend time with Kylo each night, falling asleep beside him but it always disappears sometime in the middle of the night - he never sees it leave his room. Kylo wonders if perhaps it had more toys or playthings around the house it would show itself more.

He resolves to do something about this one day on his way home from school, he stops at a pet shop and purchases a fuzzy salmon-shaped cat toy that has a bell stitched to its tail. He thinks the cat might have fun chasing it around the house.

The silence of the townhouse greets him when he arrives home - Aisling must still be in the shop below and Armitage either at school, the concert hall, or perhaps in the shop with his mother. Kylo drops his bag onto one of the kitchen chairs and as he’s shucking off his jacket he notices the orange cat slinking along the hallway. It disappears into Armitage’s room with a flick of its tail so Kylo quickly retrieves the salmon toy from his bag and tiptoes down the hall, preparing to surprise the cat with the treat.

He flings open the door, jingling the toy in one hand, his cry of “surprise!” dying in his throat as he’s greeted with the sight of a very naked Armitage blushing furiously and diving for the safety of his blankets.

“What are you doing!” He hisses, grabbing at the sheets to hastily wrap one corner around his slim hips. “Get out of here!”

Kylo stands frozen in the doorway, the ridiculous salmon cat toy crushed in his hand. He can’t tear his eyes away from Armitage, he’s glorious like this - skin flushed pink and peach and so biteable, somehow he looks even more regal in his undressed state. He stands tall, shoulders thrown back, meeting Kylo’s eye boldly even though he’s furious. 

Kylo turns and flees down the hallway, hiding in the kitchen. He hopes Aisling hasn’t heard the commotion all the way downstairs in the shop, he doesn’t want her coming up to see this unfolding disaster. Armitage storms down the hallway, partially dressed in a pair of black boxers and a tank top, his hair in disarray and a hectic blush still staining his cheeks.

“What do you think you were doing?” He demands angrily as he stomps into the kitchen. “Don’t you know how to knock?” 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Kylo babbles. He holds up the cat toy. “I bought this for the cat because I thought it needed some toys to play with, and then I saw it in the hall… I thought I’d go surprise it.”

Kylo’s rambling, he knows, and his explanation sounds ridiculous but he can’t seem to stop the flow of words. Armitage's face moves from stormy to incredulous as a smirk curls up his mouth. He sinks into a chair. Finally, he drops his head to his crossed arms and bursts out laughing.

“Oh my god, so this was all because of the cat?” He giggles, swiping at the tears on his cheeks with his wrist. “You wanted to give the cat a present.”

“Well, it sounds stupid when you say it like that.” Kylo sulks, crossing his arms in a huff. The salmon jingles as he moves, eliciting a fresh peal of laughter from Armitage.

“That’s actually kind of sweet,” Armitage says as he gets up to plant a brief kiss to the top of Kylo’s head, slipping the toy from his unresisting hands as he does so. “I’ll make sure the cat gets this, just knock next time though.”

He sways down the hall, earlier anger apparently forgiven and forgotten. Kylo slumps back in his chair stunned, confused, and unable to banish the sight of Armitage’s petal-soft skin from his mind’s eye.

“Knock?’ He whispers to himself. “Next time?”

Does that mean Armitage wants there to be a next time?

\----

Kylo hides up in his room for the rest of the evening, pleading a heavy workload as a way to escape after dinner. Armitage grins devilishly at him from across the table but mercifully lets him go without comment.

He’s hunched over his laptop, headphones in, typing away rapidly at one of his many essays when the cat lands nimbly on the table beside him, salmon toy clamped firmly in its jaws. Kylo startles in surprise but he quickly pulls his earbuds out to cup the cat’s face his hands, thumbs stroking the cat’s furry cheeks.

“Hey, you found it,” He says happily. “Armitage gave it to you.”

The cat shakes its head making the fish jingle, then it spits it out onto the desk and proceeds to glare at Kylo. He picks the toy up, shakes it so that it jingles then he softly tosses the toy across the room, thinking the cat might give chase. The cat watches the salmon sail across the room then it looks up at Kylo with a skeptical look as if to say “Me? You want me to chase after it?”.

Kylo retrieves the fish and tries again, this time throwing the toy onto the bed. The cat remains unmoved from its place on the desk. Kylo again lobs the fish towards the cat, aiming the toy for the desk this time. The cat’s eyes track the movement of the toy as it arcs across the room to bounce off the laptop and onto the chair.

Kylo heaves a sigh.

He retrieves the fish one last time and simply holds it out to the cat who sniffs at it, then delicately takes it from Kylo’s hand and places it on the tabletop in front of it. Then the cat rests its white-socked front paws on the fish as it settles down into a loaf, its tail whisking across the desk behind it. Kylo shrugs as he returns to his seat.

He doesn’t know much about cats, he’d always had dogs growing up. Perhaps this is typical cat behaviour - he’ll have to remember to ask Rey next time she calls.

Kyo reviews his last paragraph to refresh his memory then he pops one earbud in and continues typing. The cat shuffles closer and stretches out its neck to rest its chin on Kylo’s forearm, seemingly unbothered by the movements of Kylo’s arm as he types.

“Friends?” Kylo grins down at the cat.

The cat squeaks once then closes its eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the end of Kylo's first semester at school draws closer so does the holiday season. Homesickness threatens to creep up on him again and Armitage takes it upon himself to help Kylo deal with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now featuring art by 5ofspades!

Kylo is pleased to discover that his earlier thoughts about Dublin in December are correct - it is a magical sight to behold. Not that he saw much of the city while mired in final exams and final essays. The townhouse in The Liberties has fallen silent for the first two weeks of the month while he and Armitage hurtle towards the end of the term. For Kylo, it means long days and nights reviewing for his exams and for Armitage, preparing his undergraduate students for their exams, rehearsing for the winter recital, and continuing his work on his own compositions and classwork.

From the moment Halloween ends, the Christmas season in Dublin begins. Fairy lights are affixed to almost every building, public buildings are wreathed with garlands of fragrant spruce, and holiday music begins to pour from every shop, restaurant, and bar. Kylo hadn’t been quite sure what to expect from the weather; he’d always assumed that anywhere north of Salinas is snow-covered from October to March so he’s relieved, and a little disappointed to discover that he may not experience a snowy Christmas in Dublin at all.

Needing a break one night, Armitage drags Kylo away from his books and over to Grafton Street to see the spectacular light displays that are suspended between the buildings, spanning the street below. Grafton Street is packed with shoppers, revellers, and families out to see the decorations. On the way home, they pop into The Brazen Head for whiskies. Securing a cozy corner table they make small talk while listening to the trio of musicians set up at the back of the bar. Kylo, teasing a little, asks Armitage's professional opinion of the players; “tolerable” is all the response he receives, accompanied by a superior sniff.

The hectic schedule also means that Kylo has so far been able to stave off another creeping bout of homesickness. It’s just sentiment, he tries to tell himself one Sunday night before his exam week begins. He’s twenty-five, he shouldn’t feel this morose, surely there were lots of people who were apart from family during the holiday season, the distance created by geography and circumstance must affect everyone.

He suspects it’s the routine he misses. Christmas in the Solo-Organa household meant early mornings spent with Han at the beach; Han wasn’t as active in the surf community as he had been in his youth but he liked to watch Kylo out on the waves, then they’d sit together for awhile sharing their hopes for the upcoming year.

Kylo’s been looking forward to spending Christmas with Aisling and Armitage as well. The flower shop is full of seasonal bouquets and wreaths, spruce boughs and small potted juniper trees, and even a few poinsettias despite Aisling’s hatred of them.

“Hideous things,” She gripes at Kylo one day as they unload them from the car. “No one likes them but they buy them anyway.”

Kylo comes down for breakfast one morning to a house in which Christmas decorations have mysteriously sprung up overnight. He’s sure there were no ornaments in sight when he went to bed the night before, not a string of lights, not baubles, not even a candy cane - he wasn't so dizzy with exam stress that he’d forget seeing the Christmas tree in the piano room or Armitage’s pointed glance at the sprig of mistletoe hanging from the door frame.

He puts another mental pin in the mysteriously manifesting decorations, just one more odd thing that happens around Aisling’s house, he still has five exams to survive, and then he could relax.

The week of his exams dawns grey and overcast. Slate gray skies and a significant drop in temperatures lead to a weird white corona around the moon each night. Aisling predicts that it would snow that Thursday night, starting at half-past eleven.

Kylo moves through his week in an almost robotic trance - five three-hour exams will do that to a person. He’s confident he did well, he’d studied hard all term; he just doesn’t like to pick apart the exam once he’s done, it rattles his confidence. Once he was done an exam, he was done. He comes home from his last exam on Thursday afternoon and face-plants into his bed, not bothering to change clothes, not waking up for dinner, not even the orange cat leaping up to the bed wakes him.

He wakes the next morning, feeling groggy and stale. There is no sign of the cat beyond a few stray orange hairs, it had left sometime before sunrise as is usual. Kylo stumbles to the shower, standing under the warm water helps to loosen his tense back muscles and refresh him. Back in his room, he throws his fitted jogging pants and t-shirt into the hamper - he’s tempted to burn them since he’d been wearing them most of the week. Hopping around on one leg, trying to pull his running tights onto his still-damp legs, he falls back onto the bed where he finally notices the subdued quality of the light filtering in through the skylights.

Remembering Aisling’s prediction, he bolts to his feet and pulls the tights into place then hurls himself down the narrow stairs. His bare feet slide to a stop at the kitchen door and he stands open-mouthed gazing at the fat, feathery snowflakes cascading from the sky. This is the first time he’s ever seen snow close up; he’s mesmerized by it.

Armitage glides into the kitchen, dressed warmly in his wool coat and boots. He brandishes a stack of essays at Kylo.

“I did it,” He crows triumphantly. “Five, thirty-page papers on various composition techniques and musical theory.” He slips the stack of essays into his bag with a flourish.

“It’s snowing,” Kylo says, turning to look at Armitage, wonder plain in his voice. He points out the window as if his meaning is unclear.

Armitage chuckles.

“Yes, well, Aisling did say, didn’t she?” He clips his bag shut and slings it over his shoulder. “She’s rarely wrong about these things.”

Kylo turns back to the window with a breathless “wow”. Armitage comes to stand beside him and together they watch the snowfall together. It’s quiet, the snow dampens the sound from outside completely and Kylo feels, for a brief moment, as if they’re the only two people in the city. Armitage glances over at him, his eyes lingering over his arms and trailing down to his running tights.

“If you’re going to go running, take care,” He says with a frown. “People aren’t used to driving in this weather so it could be dodgy.”

“I think I’ll stay in,” Kylo says absently, half his attention still on the snow. He turns to Armitage with a smile. “Your papers are done? That means it's the holidays for real, finally.”

Armitage nods, relieved. “Not that I was worried but there were a few days where I didn’t see a way out from beneath the pile of papers.” He scrutinizes Kylo’s face. “You look much better, less zombified for once.”

Kylo grins as he runs his fingers through his still-damp hair. “I showered.”

“And I thank you for it.”

“Quiet, you.” He elbows Armitage lightly, knowing he likely can’t feel it through his winter layers, then stands back so Armitage can leave.

“If the snow is still here after dinner, let’s go for a walk,” Armitage says, one hand on the doorknob. “It’ll be pretty with the lights.”

Kylo nods then danced backwards as a blast of wintery air hits him as Armitage opens the door. He’s suddenly aware that he’s been standing there bare-chested and barefoot so he hurries upstairs to finish getting dressed.

Returning to the kitchen, Kylo puts on a pot of coffee then plants himself on the sofa in the piano room to watch the snow.

\----

To Kylo’s delight, the snow sticks around all day and is still falling gently as he and Armitage bundle up for the promised after-dinner walk.

Armitage leads Kylo through the neighbourhood and down to the river where they follow the inky dark water until they come to the O’Donovan Bridge where Armitage makes a sharp turn left with Kylo hot on his heels. He comes to a stop in the middle of the bridge, leaning his elbows on the iron balustrade, he nods down the river. Kylo sidles up next to him and follows his glance where a truly beautiful sight greets him. The bridges that bracelet the river are decorated for the holiday season and the lights glow softly on the dark water below. Behind them, the historic Four Courts building rises stately and silent. The street lights are hazy and the flurry of snow has softened the edges of the city. The few people that are out, speak in hushed tones as if something about the snow-dappled streets requires it.

“How are you feeling?” Armitage murmurs quietly, not taking his eyes off the series of bridges marching down the river away from them.

“Oh,” Kylo says, surprised. “I’m fine.”

Armitage turns to him, resting his hip against the cold iron of the railing. His eyes are very deep green in the low light. “No,” He says. “I mean, how are you?” He levels a glance at Kylo that is heavy with implied meaning.

“Ah.” Kylo catches the threads of his thoughts. “Um, good. I mean, it’ll be weird not to be at home for Christmas, but it’s fine.”

“Does your family have any particular holiday rituals?” Armitage turns back to the water, fingers tapping out a rhythm on the freezing iron of the balustrade.

“Not really, we’d just go to the beach. Like usual.” Kylo laughs quietly.

Armitage nods. They fall silent then, huddled together on the bridge, they watch the snow and the way the lights filter through the flakes. Kylo inhales deeply of the dry cold air laced with woodsmoke and feels himself relax. He leans forward on his elbows and looks back at Armitage over his shoulder.

“Hey, Armitage?”

“Hmm?”

“Thanks, this is nice.”

“You’re welcome, of course.”

Armitage smiles down at him, a few flakes of snow dust his long lashes and catch in the coppery hairs that peek out from beneath his toque.

\----

The time in between the end of exams and Christmas Eve is one of relaxation and pure decadence for Kylo. As Armitage had predicted, the snow melts away rapidly returning the city to its usual grey-green colour palette. Although Kylo is sorry to see the snow go, it’s a lot easier to go for his morning run in the rain than snow - no one in the city seemed to own a shovel so the sidewalks had been a slippery nightmare.

He spends the rest of the time cleaning up the mess of papers and photocopied journal articles that litter his room, or lounging around on the sofa listening to Armitage sing bawdy tavern songs and play the piano with unusual raucous enthusiasm. Aisling shrieks with pretend offence every time Armitage starts a new song, each more ribald than the last.

To complete Kylo’s descent into pure sloth, Armitage takes it upon himself usher Kylo around to a new bar every night to sample as many different batches of whiskey as they can afford. Kylo knows it’s Armitage’s subtle way of keeping him too busy to fall into homesick despair again. Kylo appreciates it, and Armitage seems to enjoy himself. He eventually admitted he didn’t know much about whiskey, he just knew which bars and snugs had the best ambience. Armitage’s lack of whiskey knowledge didn’t matter to Kylo, they had too much fun sharing drinks and trading stories each night in different pubs that were all awash in red velvet, gleaming brass, and rich brown wood.

Christmas Eve, though, that night is reserved for more intimate family time. There’s a traditional Christmas dinner with Aisling and afterwards, the three of them huddled together onto the sofa in the piano room to watch movies. The white fairy lights on the tree throw kaleidoscope patterns on the walls of the parlour as the evergreen scent of the tree mingles with the tea and powdery sugar smell from the remnants of their dessert. When Armitage falls asleep with a soft snore, everyone retires to their separate rooms for the night. Kylo curls up in bed to call his family while the house and city settle down for the night.

\----

Kylo’s roused from a deep sleep Christmas morning as a soft, floral-scented towel is hurled at his face.

“Get up,” Armitage calls from the bureau. He rummages around through Kylo’s clothes. “Get your swimsuit on underneath your clothes and meet me in the kitchen.” He throws Kylo’s black surf shorts and a pair of jogging pants on the bed then rushes from the room.

Kylo rolls over groggily, disoriented for a moment and forgetting where he is. On his back, he gazes up at the now-familiar skylights, blinking at the bright morning sunshine spilling from the sky. A rare sunny winter day in Dublin. He oozes out of his warm bed and does as Armitage bids, he kicks off his pyjama pants and slips on the swimsuit, then jogging pants. He adds a long-sleeved shirt and socks then shuffles to the bathroom to splash cold water on his face to wake himself up properly.

He descends the crooked wooden stairs into a kitchen that is bright and noisy. All the curtains are thrown wide so the first floor is unbelievably bright, the light bounces off the crystals decorating the windowsills throwing rainbows upon the walls and floor.

“Nollaig Shona Dhuit, Kylo!” Aisling hugs him, giving his cheek a motherly pat. “There’s coffee.”

The kitchen is warm in the morning light, the familiar scent of tea and coffee permeates the air and from some hidden speaker, The Nutcracker Suite plays at full blast. Kylo’s pouring himself a cup of coffee as Armitage comes hurrying into the kitchen wearing his own pair of running tights that only serve to make his legs look that much longer and shapelier. He’s also wearing a red pair of Converse and looks more awake than a person has a right to be at seven o’clock on Christmas morning.

Armitage grabs the coffee cup out of Kylo’s hands. “I’ll take care of this for you, go grab that towel and a change of clothes. I’ll wait here.” He digs around in the cupboard for a travel mug and begins decanting Kylo’s coffee into it. He looks up. “What? Get going!”

Kylo looks helplessly around for Aisling but she simply smiles and nods towards the stairs as she sips her tea. Both Armitage and Aisling seem to be up to something and Kylo doesn't know if he should be wary or not but nevertheless returns to his room to gather up the aforementioned towel as well a change of clothes. He shoves everything into his backpack then grabs his green wool coat as he leaves his room.

Armitage hands Kylo a travel mug with his coffee then ushers him out the door with a wave to Aisling over his shoulder. Down in the gravel parking area, he takes Kylo’s backpack from him as he points to the passenger side of the car. Armitage stows both his and Kylo’s bags in the trunk of the car then swings himself into the driver's side seat as Kylo carefully folds his long legs into the jump seat. Aisling’s car is not made for two people who were over six feet tall but after a bit of adjusting, wiggling the seats back and forth and angling the mirrors, they’re ready to go. Armitage peals out of the parking space and whips the car around the corner onto Thomas Street, which was almost completely empty of traffic on Christmas morning. He makes another turn and Kylo can see St. Patrick’s Cathedral off to his left.

“Where are we going?”

“We’re going to the Forty Foot in Dun Laoghaire,” Armitage says, eyes on the road as he navigates a turn. “It’s a Christmas tradition. You slept a lot later than I expected but we won’t have missed it entirely.”

“That’s not much of an explanation,” Kylo gasps as Armitage wheels the car around another turn and speeds along the street parallelling St. Stephen’s Green. Through the tall iron fence and skeletal trees that border the park, a few people can be seen enjoying the bright winter weather.

“I’m being vague on purpose,” Armitage grins at him. “This is a surprise.”

Kylo grips the edges of the car seat as Armitage wheels around another turn, crosses over the canal and yet another river then finally the city begins to thin out until the grim blue-grey of the ocean is visible ahead of them. They follow the coastline, passing through suburbs until they come to Dun Laoghaire proper. The seaside town is busier than Kylo expected, there are more people out enjoying the seawall and the street is lined with parked cars.

Armitage slows the car as they turn down increasingly narrower side streets. They pass by a squat tower that is home to the James Joyce Museum and then Armitage gives a quiet cry of triumph as he spots a vacant parking space. Kylo notices that the people walking along the street are either suspiciously damp-looking or are in various states of undress draped with towels. A spark of nervous excitement flares up in his stomach.

Throwing the car into park, Armitage leans over the flip over the glove compartment. He tosses his wallet and phone inside, indicating that Kylo should do the same thing then he closes and locks it securely. Kylo follows Armitage out of the car and they fall in with a small group of people heading towards the tower. The wind is brisk and bracing, it whips Kylo’s hair around his face and tears at his clothes. The ocean off to their right has a few whitecaps whipped up by the wind and the sun glints off the surface of the waves momentarily blinding Kylo as he takes in the scenery.

As they get closer to the ocean, Kylo begins to see even more bedraggled-looking people in swimsuits, some wrapped tightly in towels, others shivering and dancing in place. They pass through tall open iron gates and follow the sloping path down towards the water.

“Oh god,” Kylo breathes. “Are we going swimming?”

Armitage nods excitedly. He smiles at Kylo, pushing his hair out of his eyes “We are. It’s a tradition like I said.”

Down at the water, there are groups of people milling around, huddled by the towering sea wall to get out of the wind. A handful of hardy people are in the water splashing around and even more swimmers are waiting in line for their turn to jump off the cement pier into the churning water. To the right are a set of shallow stairs and a handrail for the less intrepid swimmers who prefer to not hurl themselves directly into the unforgiving ocean.

Armitage finds them a clear space along the wall and begins stripping off his outer layers. He tucks his woollen toque and gloves into his coat pockets then sheds his coat. His cardigan, t-shirt, and sneakers quickly follow. Kylo simply stands and stares, his backpack hanging uselessly from his nerveless hands.

He hasn’t seen Armitage in this state of undress since the unfortunate incident with the cat toy, which Armitage mercifully never mentioned again, and Kylo finds he’s struck just as breathless as he was that day. Armitage’s skin blushes petal-pink in the biting wind and his coppery hair falls gracefully over his forehead as he hops around on one leg trying to kick off his shoe and pant leg. Finally, he manages to disentangle himself from his trousers and he shuffles them into the pile with his other clothes and glances at Kylo over his shoulder. He smirks when he catches Kylo’s wandering eye and draws himself up to his full height. Armitage meets Kylo’s wide-eyed gaze just as boldly as he did the day in his bedroom, posture perfect and shoulders thrown back; Kylo’s gaze unabashedly trails along Armitage’s narrow shoulders down the long, lean lines of his body, over the slight curve of his hip and down to the absolute tiniest pair of swim shorts possible. Honestly, Kylo’s eyes bounce back up to meet Armitage’s knowing grin, he’s almost indecent with his long legs and biteable curves. Just out there for everyone to see.

Armitage rolls his eyes bemusedly at Kylo’s blushing face so he takes matters into his own hands taking Kylo’s backpack from his unresisting hands, dropping it beside his own pile of clothes. When he sets his hands to the buttons of Kylo’s coat, Kylo is finally galvanized into action and shedding his clothes with an eagerness that he’ll be embarrassed about if he thinks too hard about it.

When Kylo has finally pushed his pile of clothing to the side, it’s his turn to be smug. He knows his neoprene surf shorts cling to him perfectly and accentuates the strong lines of his body. He plunks his hands on his hips and watches with no small amount of satisfaction as Armitage’s eyes widen as they rake over Kylo’s broad shoulders, the athletic definition in his arms, and finally the long, lean muscles of his legs. Armitage bites his lip as his gaze travels back up to meet Kylo’s eye, he shrugs one shoulder ruefully and Kylo snorts at his expression.

“It’s okay, you can look,” Kylo says with a satisfied grin. Fair is fair, he thinks, he did walk in on Armitage that one time, he can let him look his fill now.

“Oh my god,” Armitage says faintly, “Let’s go.” He takes Kylo by the arm to steer him towards the stairs.

Kylo digs in his heels a bit when they reach the first step. “I don’t know, it looks cold.”

“Are you telling me that the big time Californian surf star is afraid of a little cold water!”

Armitage takes a running leap and launches himself onto Kylo’s back, causing Kylo to stumble down the stairs with the momentum of Armitage’s impact.

“I’m usually wearing a full wetsuit!” Kylo shrieks as together they crash headlong into the freezing maw of the ocean.

He comes up for air, gasping at the shock of the icy water. Armitage drags his hand through the water, splashing Kylo with a wave of frigid water right in his face, then shrieks himself as Kylo grabs his ankle when he tries to flee. Kylo hauls him bodily through the water towards himself and wraps Armitage in his arms then launches them both into the water.

They splash around for a few more minutes as more swimmers leapt into the water around them. Armitage takes Kylo’s hand and nods towards the pier where people are lining up to jump into the water from a greater height. They climb out and rush over, shivering and laughing in the wind, to wait in line for their turn to jump.

They line up to cannonball into the water a few more times but when Kylo notices that Armitage’s lips are turning blue, he guides him out of the water with an arm wrapped around his waist. Gathering up their clothes, they find a more secluded area away from all the swimmers in which to change out of their wet bathing suits. Armitage holds up his towel as a modest screen so that Kylo can strip off his wet surf suit and hastily pull on his dry clothes, then he shields Armitage in turn so that he can dress.

Armitage gives his damp hair a quick scrub with the towel to get as much of the saltwater out as he can before he tugs his toque into place, covering his glorious hair in grey wool. Kylo does the same with his hair, shivering slightly as a few errant drops of water roll down his neck. So dressed, they make their way back up to the street.

A booth is set up near the Joyce Museum and Armitage procures a twenty Euro note from his pocket and slips it into the donation box - for the local hospice, he explains to Kylo, then buys two large cups of hot chocolate from the smiling volunteers.

They take their drinks and perch along the low wall parallel to the road, the museum at their backs. Kylo sips at the hot chocolate with relish, it’s warm and chocolatey, creamy and with a hint of cinnamon, it’s perfect after their icy morning swim.

“That was fun,” He says as he shuffles closer to Armitage. “What made you think of it?”

“That night we went for that walk in the snow and you told me about surfing with your dad on Christmas morning,” Armitage looks suddenly shy. “I know it’s not the same ocean as at home, but I thought it might do for now.”

A swarm of butterflies manifests in Kylo’s stomach at that. He glances down into his cup, vision blurring for a moment, then over at Armitage who is looking out to sea, a charming blush on his high cheekbones.

“It was perfect, Armitage, thank you.”

Armitage elbows him lightly in his side, embarrassed by the sentiment and together, they sip their hot chocolate in silence and watch the waves break upon the riprap below.

“What made you decide to come to Dublin?” Armitage asks curiously. “You could study Philosophy anywhere surely.”

“Well,” Kylo sighs. “I needed a change and this seemed like the opposite of Salinas.”

“Wouldn’t the opposite of Salinas be like, Norway or Iceland or something?” Armitage grins cheekily.

“You know what I mean!” Kylo laughs. He drums his heels against the stone of the wall. “What about you, have you ever lived anywhere else?”

“No, I’ve never lived anywhere but Dublin,” Armitage says, sipping the last of his chocolate. “I haven’t even been to London.” He glances at Kylo nervously, as if he’s worried Kylo might judge him for that.

“Well, maybe you should come to visit me in Salinas then,” Kylo says as if issuing a challenge.

“Maybe I will,” Armitage replies, then his mouth curls up in a little grin as he reaches out and brushes his fingertips down Kylo’s cheek. “Your tan is starting to fade, California dreamer.”

Kylo catches his hand and presses a kiss to the back of his hand. “I’ll work on it.”

“See that you do,” Armitage says faintly. He tugs his hand from Kylo’s and takes his paper cup, shaking it. “You done?” Kylo nods so Armitage stacks the cups and hoists his legs over the wall and stands. “Ready to go, we’ve got presents to open.”

Kylo scrambles to follow him. Armitage bins their cups and waits for Kylo to catch up, relinquishing his bag when Kylo reaches for it. Kylo slings his arm around Armitage’s shoulders and they hurry back to the warmth of the car and Dublin.

\----

If Kylo expected the rest of Christmas Day to pass by in a lazy haze of food and relaxation, he couldn’t have been more wrong.

When Kylo and Armitage return from Dun Laoghaire, they are thrown into a whirlwind of activity. He helps Armitage and Aisling cook a proper full Irish breakfast, then they huddle around the small Christmas tree in the parlour to open presents and by the time that’s done, it’s time for lunch. While all this is happening, phones chime and chirrup as Aisling and Armitage’s friends and family text and call. Kylo’s phone is quiet thanks to the time difference between Dublin and Salinas but it won’t be long before he’s making his own calls and texts in the small hours of the morning.

After they tidy away the wrapping paper and ribbons from the gifts, it’s time for dinner. Dinner is followed by card games of which Kylo loses every single hand. There’s also plenty of music. Armitage hardly needs persuading to sit down at the piano and he plays and sings until he’s nearly hoarse. That means it’s time for whiskey and mulled wine, Christmas cake and trifle. Some of Aisling’s friends show up after eight o’clock with more gifts and baked goods which Armitage later steals from the kitchen as he and Kylo escape upstairs to watch a movie on Kylo’s laptop.

Around midnight, Armitage bids goodnight and sleepily makes his way back to his own room. The house has fallen silent since the last of the well-wishers left and Aisling herself has gone to sleep and when Kylo comes out of his bathroom after showering, the house below is quiet and dark, illuminated only by the fairy lights from the parlour.

Kylo is in the middle of his skype call home when the orange cat slinks into the room and curls up at Kylo’s side. He tickles it under its chin as he signs off with Rey and Finn then sets his phone gently on the bedside table. He scoops the cat into the crook of his elbow as he wriggles further under the blankets and turns off the light. The cat snuggles into the curve of his shoulder as Kylo sighs then falls into a deep, exhausted sleep.

\----

He’s comfortable. And warm, much warmer than usual.

Kylo flexes his legs as he slowly wakes. He cuddles tighter to the sleep-warm body in his arms and nuzzles the soft red hair. He freezes.

Red hair. Warm skin.

Kylo’s eyes fly open as he realizes that it’s Armitage, and not the cat pressed up against him. His body goes rigid, feeling the exact moment that the tension hits Armitage's body as well. He stiffens in Kylo’s arms. In his haste to put some space between himself and Armitage, Kylo flings himself backwards too quickly and accidentally rolls right off the bed, hitting the floor with a heavy thud that rattles everything in the room.

Armitage kicks off the blankets in a furious flailing of his long legs and vaults from the bed, taking one of the flat sheets to cover himself. Kylo bolts to his feet and reaches the door in two long strides. He throws his body against the door, slamming it closed then leans back against it, effectively blocking Armitage’s escape from the room.

“What the actual fuck!” He knows he’s being far too loud but he can’t seem to control the volume of his voice, it comes out high-pitched and tinny to his ears. “What are you doing in my bed?”

“I’m sorry,” Armitage says as he pulls the sheet close around his body, holding it tight to his chest. His green eyes are wide and his hair stands on end. He bites his lower lip as he looks at Kylo across the room.

The light from the three skylights backlight him, Kylo can see the outlines of his long legs, the curve of his hip, through the white sheet. The ends of the fabric trail behind him like a train.

“Armitage,” He starts again, quieter this time. “What’s going on?”

“I’m sorry,” Armitage repeats, looking at the bed, up at the ceiling, the floor, anywhere but Kylo’s face. “I fell into too deep a sleep.”

“What does that mean? Do you do this a lot?”

“Not in the way you’re thinking.”

Kylo shakes his head, trying to clear his muddled thoughts. “You’ll have to enlighten me then because I’m really not following you.”

“It’ll sound crazy, I don’t know how to explain it.” Armitage gathers the sheet around him like he’s going to make a run for it. “Aisling… she’s… I’m a-” He takes a deep breath. “I’m the cat.”

“I fucking knew it!” Kylo shouts triumphantly, crossing his arms and smiling triumphantly at Armitage.

“How could you possibly have known that?” Armitage gapes at him.

“Well, I didn’t know you _were_ the cat, obviously, but I knew there was something not right about it.” Kylo’s mouth curls up devilishly. “You make a terrible cat.”

Armitage’s mouth flops open as his arms drop limply to his sides and the sheet slips perilously lower on his hips. He snatches it up at the last second, blushing at Kylo’s amused glance.

“How can you be so calm about this? I just told you that I’m the cat that sleeps with you every night.”

“I’m from California,” Kylo smirks. “This isn’t even in the top five weirdest things I’ve seen. Also, I might still be drunk from all the mulled wine yesterday.” He presses the heels of his palms into his eyes where a dull ache had begun throbbing. “Can we go back to bed and talk about this later, it’s only five.”

“Um, okay,” Armitage tries to snake by Kylo and get the door open. “I’ll just go back to my room.”

He yelps in surprise as Kylo catches him by the elbow and steers him back towards the bed.

“Just sleep here, it’s fine.” Kyo pushes him down into the blankets and crawls over him to his side of the bed. “It’s not like you haven’t been here before, right?” He teases Armitage as he pulled the blankets up around them.

Armitage huddles at the edge of the bed, stiff as a board, tension radiating unhappily from every line on his body. Kylo sighs and slips his arm around Armitage’s waist to slide him closer. He snuggles into Armitage’s side with a soft sigh of contentment.

“This is much nicer when you’re human size,” He whispers into Armitage’s ear. “I can hold you properly.”

“Good Lord,” Armitage breathes. “You must be out of your mind to be alright with this.”

“Look, it’s fine.” Kylo reaches up to cup Armitage’s chin and gently tilt his face towards his. He lightly caresses his thumb over Armitage’s bottom lip, bitten rosy and red by the stress of his revelations. “It’s all fine.” He slips his hand around to tenderly cup the back to Armitage’s head and guide him closer so that Armitage can hide his face in the curve of Kylo’s shoulder. “What made you decide to start coming up here in cat-form?”

“Well, at first I was just angry you were here, and scared,” His breath shivers over Kylo’s skin. “Aisling and I, we’re not, um, usual? I had to make sure we’d be safe with you.” He tips his head back to gaze into Kylo’s face. “You were such a contradiction at first. There was all this-” He runs his hand over Kylo’s bicep and down his broad chest. “But you had such big, sad eyes and you were so homesick, and you were studying Philosophy. I didn’t know what to think.”

“So you decided to keep me company every night?” Kylo presses his forehead lightly against Armitage’s.

“You needed company, and I had to be sure about you first. It was just easier as the cat.” Armitage slides his hand back up to rest at Kylo’s neck. “And then I started to like you, I couldn’t help it. The more time I spent with you as both myself and as the cat, I was just swept away.”

He breaks off as Kylo guides his face in for a tender kiss.

“I liked you too, right away,” Kylo confesses as he peppers Armitage’s face with little kisses.

Armitage laughs quietly as he tangles his hands into Kylo’s dark hair to hold him still. “I know. Your face can’t hide anything - it makes you abysmal at cards and a terrible liar.” He gasps as Kylo slips his hands around him and rolls them both so that Armitage sits astride Kylo’s hips. “Aisling foresaw your coming, did you know that?”

“She said something weird when I first arrived,” Kylo settles his hands at Armitage’s waist to hold him steady. “I didn’t know what she meant so I just let it go.” He brushes his fingertips along the edge of the sheet still wrapped around Armitage’s hips.

“She had a feeling about you; not everyone would be okay with what we are - she and I.”

Kylo surges upright, holding Armitage tightly in his lap. “Well, I’m more than okay with it.” He slides one hand up Armitage’s chest to rest over his racing heart. The other hand cups the back to Armitage’s head to guide him down for another kiss. Armitage smiles against his lips.

“Is that your best move?”

Kylo laughs as he wraps his arms around him, pressed him close and kisses him again, and again.

“It is.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Several months after Armitage's startling revelation, he makes good on his promise to visit Kylo in Salinas. Then, shortly after that visit, Kylo returns home.

_Six months later…_

Kylo waits impatiently at the barrier of the International Arrivals Hall at the San Jose International Airport. It’s been twelve long hours since he last messaged Armitage, they haven’t been able to talk since his flight took off from Heathrow hours ago. It feels like an eternity to Kylo.

That Armitage’s flight has arrived on time Kylo is sure. He’s been checking the British Airways website non-stop since early this morning so he knows the flight left on time and arrived here in California as scheduled. The line-up in the customs and immigration hall must be long - there’s a lot of other people waiting for friends and family. Kylo is surrounded by several drivers of airport shuttles with their passengers’ names written on tablets, tour operators, other lovers too. Kylo glances to his right and happens to make eye contact with a woman who’s bouncing on her toes, impatiently looking from her phone to the frosted glass doors of the secured area, she glances at him with eyes that look a little too watery to be waiting for anyone but a partner. She nods at him and he grins back. He imagines he looks much the same.

The doors slide open and a few passengers trickle out to be met by those waiting in the crowd. The woman to Kylo’s right whoops loudly as she rushes past him to leap into the arms of a dark-eyed man with curly hair. Kylo smiles as he turns his gaze back to the now-closed doors.

Soon, the doors open again disgorging more passengers into the arrivals hall and that’s when Kylo finally sees him. Armitage glides through the crowd, light on his feet, as usual, towing a tidy silver suitcase behind him. He’s wearing a slim-fitting pair of shorts that expose his long legs, sandals, and a t-shirt - it’s a much different look than his usual uniform of slim jeans and cardigans. Armitage’s red hair is swept smoothly off his face and looks a bit damp like he tidied himself up before he came out to meet Kylo. His eyes dart around searching for Kylo and when he finally sees him, his face lights up from within.

Armitage glides smoothly between people, tall and lithe, he doesn’t even look like he belongs here. He looks more like some wayward ethereal creature blown off-course landing in California instead of Narnia or Camelot. Except, Armitage belongs here, he belongs wherever Kylo is. He releases his hold on his luggage as Kylo wraps him in a tight hug, lifting him off his feet and swinging him around. He can’t help it, it’s so good to see Armitage again. To hold him again.

“I didn’t know you even owned a pair of shorts.” Kylo teases after he’s thoroughly kissed Armitage hello. He takes Armitage’s bag from his shoulder and picks up the discarded suitcase. “They look new, there’s still a crease down the middle.”

Armitage laughs as he slips his hand in Kylo’s so they can navigate through the crowds and out to the parking lot. “I had to buy some new things - I don’t think I’ve worn shorts since I was a boy.”

“I can tell,” Kylo grins as he digs in his pocket for his parking ticket. He slips it into the machine then swipes his card for payment. “Your ghost legs are going to scare small children and dogs.”

Armitage snorts at the joke, squeezing Kylo’s hand tight and pressing his forehead against Kylo’s shoulder. Kylo takes the ticket from the machine, grabs the handle of the suitcase again then leads Armitage towards the doors and the sunshine.

“Ready?” He says, looking over at Armitage’s travel-weary but eager face.

“Ready.”

\----

_One month after that…_

If this line-up doesn’t start moving right now Kylo is going to lose it and start tossing people out of his way in an effort to get to Armitage. He’s had it - ten hours to London, a four-hour layover, and then one hour’s flight to Dublin. Kylo is ready to be done with air travel forever.

Finally, he’s through Irish customs and into the small, dingy baggage area. He dances impatiently from foot to foot at the slow-moving carousel where he watches, eagle-eyed, as the luggage spills out onto the conveyor belt. When he sees his large black and grey suitcases topple down the ramp, he rushes forward and hauls them off the belt. Then he goes directly to the doors, he doesn’t stop at the washroom to try and tidy up, he knows he must look a sweaty and dishevelled mess but he doesn’t care. Every second that Armitage waits is one second too many.

He’s through the doors in an instant and scanning for Armitage. And there, he sees that distinctive flash of copper-red hair moving towards him, green eyes wide and a little damp. If possible, Armitage has only grown more beautiful since Kylo last saw him - the suntan he acquired while visiting Kylo in Salinas has faded to a lovely spray of freckles across the bridge of his nose and over his cheeks.

Kylo drops his bags as Armitage leaps into his arms, locking his legs around Kylo’s waist. Kylo grips him securely, hands tight around him as he swings him in a circle as Armitage peppers his face with kisses. Kylo knows they’re making a scene but he doesn’t care. He sets Armitage carefully on his feet without loosening his grip around his waist. Armitage cups Kylo’s face in his hands and draws him down for a thoroughly welcoming kiss. 

“Hello,” Armitage gasps as he draws back, thumbs caressing Kylo’s cheeks. “You’re back.”

“I am,” Kylo presses his forehead to Armitage’s, he’s so happy to be here. Something unlocks in his chest at that - he’s home because his home is wherever Armitage is. Kylo’s place is at his side. “Let’s go home.”


End file.
